Bolsonaro fears the reaper as Covid hearings kick off

Nearly three decades have passed since Brazil’s Congress held its most famous and consequential hearings committee – known in Brazil as CPIs – to date. 

Between June and August 1992, lawmakers of both houses investigated the secret dealings of Paulo César Farias, who was a financial caretaker for then-President Fernando Collor. Previously Mr. Collor’s campaign treasurer, he acted as a bridge between the president and dirty businesses willing to pay bribes in exchange for hefty contracts, once the new government took office.

The Collor administration tried but failed to control and neuter the committee. The government saw its top members summoned to testify and so suffered a public scolding. In just a couple of months, the investigations created momentum for the impeachment that pushed Mr. Collor out of office.

The former president — the first democratically elected after 21 years of military dictatorship — has often been compared to incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. Although immensely different characters, there are some similarities to their situations. Both won the presidency on an anti-corruption ticket, promising to “drain the swamp”, despite being a part of that very ecosystem for decades. Both failed to build a tight-knit coalition in Congress, and they quickly lost popularity in office.

Facing a CPI of his own, Mr. Bolsonaro hopes the parallels between him and Mr. Collor end there. The government is trying to work behind the scenes to prevent the newly-created Covid hearings, which will probe...